Laurent Hengesch
Founding Partner
Laurent spent several years in the financial services and investment management industry based in Luxembourg, the UK, the US and Switzerland. During his career, he focused on acting as an advisor to European UHNWI, as well as corporations and governments, while working for Warburg Bank and family offices in Europe. Laurent is a guest lecturer at the University of Luxembourg and the Luxembourg School of Business.
Alain Wildanger
Founding Partner
After his studies at ESCP Europe in Paris, London and Berlin, Alain joined the Oil&Gas Department of UBS Investment Bank in London and worked in various other investment companies with a clear focus on private equity, energy and real estate. Alain co-founded an investment fund investing in CEE real estate.
Georges Bock
Partner
Georges is the former Managing Partner of KPMG Luxembourg, having worked for the firm for 28 years. He is a member of the supervisory board of Bank Julius Baer Europe S.A. and a member of the conseil supérieur pour un développement durable, a think tank of the Luxembourg Government for sustainable development of the country. He holds a Blockchain Technologies Certificate from MIT (2019), is a Chartered Accountant, Tax expert and Réviseur d’entreprises in Luxembourg (1994) and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and Economics from University Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg (1991).
Marc Schmitz
Director
Marc is a former partner and board member at Ernst & Young (EY) in Luxembourg. He spent more than three decades advising large multinational clients on cross-border corporate investment and financing projects. In addition to his client work, he served as EY's tax and policy leader, representing the firm in various public tax working groups. He is a certified accountant and a member of the Ordre des Experts-Comptables, and has published numerous articles and publications on Luxembourg and international taxation. Marc has also served as a board member and treasurer of the Luxembourg branch of the International Fiscal Association (IFA) and has been a frequent speaker at international tax conferences.
Irene Prota
Investment Associate
Irene worked in the valuation and M&A team of Mazars in Italy, the M&A team of Deloitte in Italy and the corporate finance team of KPMG in Brazil. She did her Erasmus at the Utrecht University and holds a Master in Finance from LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome. Irene is a Member of the AGC (Guido Carli Association of Economic and Political Culture).
Etienne Schneider
Advisory Board
Etienne is the former Deputy Prime Minister (from 2013), Minister of Economy (from 2012), Minister of Health (from 2018), Minister of Internal Security and Minister of Defense (from 2013) of Luxembourg. He held those various positions between 2012 and 2020, being a member of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP). He has previously filled several positions as a senior civil servant, such as a research assistant at the European Parliament in Brussels, economist for the LSAP parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies and project leader with NATO in Brussels. He also served as a government advisor responsible for various Directorates. Etienne has a degree in commercial and financial sciences from the Institut catholique des hautes études commerciales (ICHEC) in Brussels and Greenwich University in London (1995).
Martin Vogel
Advisory Board
Martin is a Swiss attorney-at-law and alumni of IMD and INSEAD. In 1996, after having worked as a lawyer specializing in banking and finance law, he joined Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd., where his final role was Managing Director and Member of the Executive Management Committee of Julius Baer Asset Management in Zurich. Under his leadership, MDO Management Company developed into one of Luxembourg’s leading independent third-party management companies which then merged in 2020 with MontLake and DMS. Martin Vogel is active in fund associations, advises asset managers on the third-party management company landscape, and is a regular speaker at international fund conferences. Martin Vogel is the CEO Europe and Global Head of Strategy at Waystone which is currently serving assets under management in excess of USD 1Tn.
Serge de Cillia
Advisory Board
Serge has been working in the banking sector for more than 35 years. With a degree in economics, he started his banking career in 1986 at Banque Générale du Luxembourg. In 2000, he joined the management of the Luxembourg Banking Association ABBL, where he was appointed CEO in 2014 till 2020. He has represented the financial industry on various boards. For many years, Serge has been a board member of the CSSF (Luxembourg Financial Regulator), CES (Economic and Social Council of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg), FGDL (Luxembourg Deposit Guarantee Fund), and FDC (National Pension Insurance Fund). From 2014 till 2019, Serge has been a member of the EBF Executive Committee (European Banking Federation), UEL (Luxembourg Employers' Association), HCPF (Haut Comité de la place financière), and LFF (Luxembourg for Finance). Serge currently serves as a supervisory board member of the Fondation de Luxembourg, which assists European donors in the structuring, developing, and monitoring of philanthropic projects in Europe and worldwide.
Jessica Holzbach
Advisory Board
Jessica Holzbach co-founded Penta and served as its Chief Customer Officer on the Management Team for over 4.5 years since its inception to scale with over 30.000 customers, +150 employees, and more than a 45million in venture funding collected. She started her career by studying General Management before completing her Master in Finance. In between her studies, Jessica worked as a digital strategy consultant for banks and insurance companies. She founded her first company in 2016, before switching back to banking with Penta in 2017. As CCO and MD, she was responsible for Penta's growth and was honored by Forbes on the “30 under 30” list, Capital on “Top 40 under 40” and won the German Startup Award of 2021. Currently, she is an independent advisor in the fintech scene, speaker at startup and finance events, and Angel Investor in early-stage companies.
Tom Loesch
Advisory Board
Tom Loesch is a Luxembourg national and practising lawyer registered with the Luxembourg Bar since 1982. After having graduated from the Aix-Marseille and Pantheon-Sorbonne law faculties and obtained an LL.M (post-graduate law degree) from the London School of Economics he joined Luxembourg law firm Loesch & Wolter where he became a partner in 1988. He remained a partner in that firm throughout two mergers the firm went through, first with De Bandt, van Hecke & Lagae, then with Linklaters where he headed the Corporate and M&A department for over a decade. After his retirement from Linklaters in 2012, he set up his own boutique law firm to pursue his activities as counselling lawyer primarily in corporate, M&A and PE matters besides assuming various independent directorships of Luxembourg registered regulated and non-regulated corporates.
Klaus Ulrich
Advisory Board
Klaus Ulrich is a German investor, CEO of Klaus Ulrich Gruppe and the founder and former majority shareholder of DEAG until it went public in 1998. He is considered one of Europe’s leading entrepreneurs in the entertainment business. During the last decades, Klaus organised worldwide tours and festivals for musicians such as Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, Cher, the Rolling Stones and many more. Furthermore, from 1983-2016 he managed Germany’s most successful artist, Herbert Grönemeyer, with combined album sales of over 25 million.